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Reforms in health, education & banking will benefit India: IMF Indian economy now seems to be on its way to recovering from disruptions caused by demonetisation and roll-out of GST, the IMF said on Sunday. At the same time, the IMF has underscored the significance of reforms in other key sectors like education, health and improving the efficiency of the banking and financial systems. “India's economy has expanded strongly in recent years, thanks to macroeconomic policies the emphasise stability and efforts to tackle supply-side bottlenecks and structural reforms. Disruptions from demonetisation and the rollout of the goods and services tax (GST) did slow growth,“ Tao Zhang, deputy managing director of IMF, told PTI in an interview. “However, with the economy expanding by 7.2% in the latest quarter, India has regained the title of the fastest-growing major economy.” Calling this development a “welcome change”, Zhang said the growth prospects remain positive. “That said, the Ind…

Define'shell companies' in companies act, panel asks govt At present, the term 'shell company' is not defined under the Companies Act, which is implemented by the corporate affairs ministry A Parliamentary panel has asked the government to define "shell company" in the Companies Act and ensure distinction between those guilty of fraud and those irregular with filings. The recommendation assumes significance at a time when the government is cracking down on companies that have not been carrying out business activities for long as well as those entities being allegedly used for illicit fund flows.As part of larger efforts to curb the black money menace, the corporate affairs ministry has already struck off the names of more than 226,000 companies from the official records besides disqualifying a large number of directors associated with such entities. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, headed by senior Congress leader and former Corporate Affairs Mini…

E-way relief, for now, to e-commerce, courier firms sending small orders The requirement for such bills in intra-state movement would be implemented in a phased manner Small orders that are part of a large consignment of multiple deliveries will not require generation of an electronic-way bill from April 1. A relief to e-commerce, courier companies and the like. Only, this relaxation might be temporary. At its meeting on Saturday, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council decided to make it mandatory for inter-state movement of goods worth over Rs 50,000 to have e-way bills from April 1. The requirement for such bills in intra-state movement would be implemented in a phased manner. Giving details of the decision, the finance ministry said, "At present (from April 1), there is no requirement to generate an e-way bill where an individual consignment value is less than Rs 50,000, even if the transporter is carrying goods worth than Rs 50,000 in a single conveyance.This essentially means…

Manufacturing outlook positive for January-March quarter: FICCI Manufacturers in the country have a positive outlook for the sector in the January-March quarter on the back of higher production, a report by industry body FICCI today said. "the percentage of respondents reporting higher production in fourth quarter has increased significantly vis-à-vis previous quarter of 2017-18. The proportion of respondents reporting higher output growth during the Q4 2017-18 has increased significantly to 55 per cent from 47 per cent in Q3," FICCI said in its latest quarterly survey on manufacturing. Also, the percentage of respondents reporting low production has come down to 11 per cent in the fourth quarter from 15 per cent in the preceding quarter, it added.In terms of order books, 51 per cent of the respondents said they are expecting higher number of orders as against 42 per cent in the previous quarter, which is "a sign of revival", the industry body said. The survey assessed…

Variance between GST paid and claims made The goods and service tax (GST) Council was told that there is a major variance between various set of claims made and taxes paid. According to the data set provided by the Central Board of excise and customs (CBEC) and GST network, there isa variance between the amount of integrated GSt and compensation cess paid by importers at custom ports and input tax credit of the ame claimed in GSTR-3B, the summary form for input-output.The data also evaled that there are majore data gaps between self-declared liability in the form GSTR-1, the form for suppliers, and form GSTR-3B. The council said the data will be further analysed and adequate actions will be taken accordingly. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 12th March 2018

ICAI issues advisory on joint auditors' work allocation in bank audits The allocation of work should be in agreement with the management of the bank, said ICAI Chartered accountants should ensure that allocation of work during joint audits at banks should be done in agreement with respective managements, the ICAI has said following certain issues flagged by the RBI. The ICAI's latest advisory to the members came after it received information from the RBI that there have been "certain issues between the banks' joint auditors and the banks' management regarding the allocation of work among the joint auditors".The move, though unrelated, also comes at a time when the role of auditors have come under the lens in the wake of the nearly Rs 127 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, the biggest in the Indian banking sector. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the apex body of chartered accountants, has the Standard on Auditing (SA) 299 about …

Quick savings recovery after demonetisation jolt: Reserve Bank of India According to the report, financial assets of the Indian households are predominantly in the form of bank deposits, followed by life insurance - a pattern that got disrupted after note ban The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) first quarterly publication on households’ financial assets pattern shows that Indian households quickly overcame the jitters from demonetisation. So far the study was published annually, but will now be available every quarter. The reason being an annual study often fails to capture the sharp volatility witnessed in investments and savings pattern every quarter.Household savings is crucial to gauge macroeconomic and systemic risks and is taken into consideration while preparing the bi-annual financial stability report. According to the report, financial assets of the Indian households are predominantly in the form of bank deposits, followed by life insurance — a pattern that got disrupted after not…

SEBI seeks to cut retail F&O bets Investors may soon have to tailor their bets in equity derivatives to their income. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is planning to link the extent of investors' exposure to futures and options to what they earn, said three people familiar with the development. The move is aimed at preventing individuals from taking unaffordable positions in risky instruments but market participants fret about the impact of such a move on derivatives volumes. The capital market regulator wants to introduce the concept of product suitability for investors in India as prevalent in other developed markets, said one of the three people cited above. SEBI TARGETING MANIPULATORS’ Any product sold to an investor should be suitable to him,” said one of them. “If it is not suitable, why should an investor invest in it?” Derivatives, once described as weapons of mass destruction by investor Warren Buffett, are considered a risky investment by some. Sebi …